Sci-Fi FF 2022 Film Review - The Pink Cloud
Above the skies of Brazil, seemingly innocuous pink clouds signal the beginning of a looming terror and an issue that lingers for years. Can humans adapt and survive without the socialisation, fresh air, and “normality” we’ve come accustomed to? And no, I’m not talking about COVID-19. The Pink Cloud predates the pandemic by about three years.
The opening titles state: “This film was written in 2017 and shot in 2019. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental.” A timely coincidence indeed, the story is eerily similar to the real world, and the surrealist event at its centre seems somewhat plausible in the post-COVID world. Written and directed by Iuli Gerbase as her feature film debut - a strong debut at that - the sudden appearance of pink clouds across the globe causes nationwide lockdowns as people become stuck in their immediate surroundings. The imagery of the clouds is stunning, framing them through proscenium-shaped windows as the confused residents glare at the phenomenon. In the opening images, we see a woman walking her dog by a beach that is silently killed by mist, introducing us to the fear-ridden world to come. The pink clouds act indiscriminately, attack predatorily, kill in just ten seconds after contact, and are a scientific mystery.
The film centres around Giovana (Renata se Lélis) and Yago (Eduardo Mendoça), who engage in a one-night stand the night before the clouds appear. They wake up entangled in a hammock on the patio, blissfully unaware that these will be their last moments before a gruelling lockdown. Yago opens his phone and shows Giovana what can be presumed to be an article about the clouds, to which she replies, “it must be a joke.” Moments later, they lock themselves inside. Soon after the lockdown, people begin to run out of food, and many domestic and political disputes start. The solution to the lack of resources is a tube installed in their home to deliver food and packages. As they open the hatch, they watch the clock, waiting to see if they will drop without warning and become victims to the pink mist. The couple defines their relationship and celebrates birthdays as the days, weeks, months, and years pass by.
Throughout the film, the familiar feelings of isolation plague the characters. The situation for each of them manifests itself in different ways. Yago leans into the rose-coloured environment while Giovana does everything she can to escape the pink tinge of her life. At one point, Yago asks Giovana, “Why do you suffer for things you can’t change?”. Giovana is incapable of being content with the state of the world, while Yago fully embraces the world’s limitations, at times to his detriment. While Giovana is open about her discomfort, Yago seems to bottle his emotions to layer them with optimism. Are these characters' relationships being held together by the pink clouds, and if the clouds should disappear, will they be ripped apart?
In a Sundance Institute interview with the director, Iuli Gerbase said, “my idea when I wrote the film was to explore what happiness and freedom mean to each one of us.” Her exploration of the human psyche dealing with loneliness and isolation is poignant and overwhelmingly relevant in 2022. Overall, The Pink Cloud enters an area of storytelling that, in light of the pandemic, could be dangerous territory. However, the film offers an interesting perspective on the intricacies of family, loss, and freedom that transcends it from being a cliché disaster flick into a relevant familial commentary.
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The Pink Cloud screened as part of the 2022 Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival. For more info, click here.